Middle Ground
by J. L. Collins
Summary: There were times were Bella Swan really paid attention to Jacob Black. This was one of those times. Set in post-Eclipse territory, but no Cullens and let's just go with the Pack took out Victoria, shall we?


"Middle Ground"

**A/N: No copyright infringement intended and no royalties to be collected from this work. All Twilight-related characters are property of Stephanie Meyer's. I just happen to prefer how things in Jacob's life would've went...if things were different. Enjoy!**

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_"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition." - Rod Sterling_

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There were times when Bella Swan really paid attention to Jacob Black.

This was one of those times…

The wind began to pick up, swirling the dry leaves and dirt around inside the garage. Bella scooted her make-shift chair closer to the Rabbit, wincing when the broken plastic of the crate pinched the back of her leg. She put her chin in her hand, propping it up on her knee to signify that she was in fact, still listening- this lesson was starting to make her eyes swim in and out of focus. She blinked furiously, concentrating on trying to keep her eyes open.

"This should just about do it. See these wires?" he motioned to the multi-colored nest of wiring that was hanging out of the torn-apart dashboard. Bella nodded, her eyes narrowing in on the way Jacob tried vainly to push his growing hair out of his face. She had to contain a slight chuckle as he tried to narrate what he was doing, stopping every few seconds or so to blow strands of hair out of his line of vision- all while getting more and more frustrated.

"Since this is an '86, I don't have to worry about power locks or windows or anything like that. That would make what I have going on _here_-" he stuck his hand in among the wires, "-look like a game of Candyland." They both nodded gravely at this point, causing more of his hair to free itself from being tucked behind his ear.

Bella laughed out loud this time, biting her lip to try to control it. Jacob glanced at her, shaking his head as he grinned.

"I'm debating on what I'm going to do about it," he mumbled, running his fingers through the inky-colored curtain that was framing his face. It was just long enough to graze past his chin; a look that Bella liked for some reason.

"About your hair?" she asked, wondering if that's all he actually meant by that.

She loved it when his hair was long; that was when he was his old self. His long hair reminded her of first working on the bikes, constant grins, him pulling it back in a tie all the time. A very sunny, bright side of Jacob. The Jacob that pulled her out of her darkest hour.

When he cut his hair off, it was as if his sunniness, (was that even a word? She had to wonder.) had been chopped away from his soul as well. He was happy sometimes- sure, sure. But he was in pain and the short close-cropped haircut was all business, just like he was when he was in wolf-mode. It was a drastic change.

But here, in the in-between…this was where Jake was trying to find his middle-ground. She could see him fighting to retain some of his former personality every day. It was going to be a constant battle for him… she knew that. Even though things had changed quickly, Jacob was adapting to his new life. He was trying to evolve, while staying the same also. So his chin-length hair represented his trying to 'be okay' with everything that had gone on in the past few months. Bella admired this particular quality of Jacob's, mainly because it was one she lacked.

He cleared his throat and quickly looked away from her, letting her know that she was- _ahem-_ staring at him. Again. She felt the flush rise to her cheeks and collarbone, wondering why he always picked up on it. _He must be able to feel it, like I can when he stares at me. _

She sat back, faking a dramatic yawn and stretching her arms out. He got the point.

"Okay, okay- we're done here. I just need to clean up a few things," he laughed, pulling himself out from the driver's side. The irony of a 6'7" werewolf riding around in a car this small was not beyond her. She followed him out of the corner of her eye as he made his way over to the bench that held his few 'handy tools.'

His hands and clothes were always stained and smudged with grease- a small side-effect from working on cars. She almost hated to see him try to wipe some of it off…it just looked natural on him.

_I like to wear my work_, he once told her.

Bella's eyes flowed evenly over the rest of him, taking in how his shoulder-blades and the muscles that surrounded them seem to move fluidly underneath his dark blue t-shirt. It was like watching cogs in a clock work…each component running non-stop _to connect, to move, to work_. Except this was way sexier.

Of course, she also couldn't help but notice (she blushed) that the back of his shirt had somehow rode up, showing only an inch (mere centimeters, really!) of the burnished colored skin there. It also showed off the…more prominent muscles of his backside and Bella couldn't believe she was actually staring at Jacob's ass. It was enough to make her want to physically smack herself.

"So did you want to stay for some food?" she heard him ask her, hearing the casual everyday tone behind it. She stood up and really stretched out her abdomen, leaning from side to the other.

"Are _you _cooking _me_ dinner, Jake?" she smiled as he turned around with his mouth hanging open, looking mockingly offended.

"You insinuating something, Swan?"

"No, not at all. Just…maybe that I'm a little shocked. But mostly I'm afraid. No…more like terrified, actually." She answered, as she scrunched her face up and stuck her tongue out at him, good-naturedly. Jacob smirked at her, sending a thrill of something distant pulsing down her spine. He faced her full-on, taking a few small steps as his back began to hunch slightly, his arms bent at the elbows and moving with him silently.

His eyes seemed to gleam, where the fading sunlight was still hitting his face. The sun, casting a shadow across the other side of him, made him look almost…dangerous.

"I'd watch what I'd say if I were you, honey," he said, half grinning and half trying to be predatory-like. Bella backed up, matching each step with one of her own. He dropped to what was an unmistakable crouch, crowding her closer into a corner of the beat-up sheds. She glanced around, trying to plan her escape.

"You wouldn't even _dare_, Jacob Black," she hissed, her eyes alight with excitement. This felt like a game that she could win, even while being the weaker between the two.

He laughed quietly, shaking his head.

"I'm very daring- something you may or may not have realized about me," he said, stopping his advance but still crouched. She half-expected him to go down on all fours and crawl up to her. His head tilted to the left, taking in her pose and expression. The smirk returned to his lips and began forward.

"Alright- haha, you're a funny guy. Seriously, just let me past so I can go ahead and help-" she said, her voice picking up pace as he took larger strides towards her.

"Jake!" she shrieked, laughing hard as he stood in front of her almost breathing down her neck. His warm breath tickled the back of her neck as he placed his arms on either side of her, caging her body in with them. She could hear both of their hearts racing in the sudden quiet. All that were there were their quick breaths and heartbeats. She blushed again, not wanting to look up at him.

"Help me what?" he asked, a smile in his question. He bent down and laid his chin on top of her head.

"What?" she asked, awakened from her daze. She looked over at his arms around her, watching the tendons tighten and loosen in his forearms. Even with such dark skin, she could still see strong veins pumping blood through them. She glanced around again, thinking some more to herself.

"You said you were going to go ahead and help…? Help what?" His chin was warming the small spot on her head.

"Oh…uh, I was talking about making dinner. I figured you'd need all the help you can get in that department!" she squeaked the last part out as she slid down and around Jake, quickly enough to evade his arm reaching out to catch her.

A boisterous laugh came from behind her as she halfway made it back up to the house. Suddenly, Bella was being swept up into the air, dizzying her thoughts at how high she was now. She was seeing sky and clouds then quickly looking down at the ground that was so very far away from her, as Jake threw her over his wide shoulder, only holding on to the backs of her knees.

"JAKE! PUT ME DOWN!" she screamed, closing her eyes as the ground heaved closer then a further away, over and over as he walked to his front door- busting through the door and somehow managing not to hit her in the head with anything. She could feel the laughing again, coming from all around her- vibrating under her.

"Truce?" he whispered, pretending as though he was going to drop her right on her head as he feigned letting go.

"YES! Just put me DOWN, DAMNIT!" Bella yelled, her stomach feeling like it was going to follow out her mouth, after her words.

And with one more laugh, he practically threw her (gently of course) onto the small loveseat in the living room. Bella scowled at him, once she up-righted herself.

"And that's what you get for insulting my mad cooking skills," he said, the wide-shaped grin appearing across his face. She tried to contort her face so that she was still mad, but it always wound up being a smile. She cursed his contagious good mood.

"Mad cooking skills? Grilled cheese sandwiches aren't part of most gourmet cuisines, you know," she said as she stood back up, leading them both into the kitchen. Bella started grabbing the few things from out of their refrigerator that didn't contain fish product as Jacob turned to stand up against the cabinets.

She peered over at him, watching as he was trying to word something carefully, by the looks of it.

"I guess I figure that if I'm a crappy cook, but mostly a taste-tester, part mechanic, part sun, part smart-ass and according to you-" a small sigh, "- _sort of beautiful_…maybe I can etch my initials inside your heart someday…too," he replied softly, his eyes glued to the counter where he was spinning a spoon around in between his fingers.

Her breath hitched and she couldn't move. Her usual snarky comments found no outlet. She couldn't make a funny joke out of _these_ words. These utterly perfect, so much _more_ than sort of beautiful words. But she couldn't seem to say anything else, either.

At this, she heard him sigh again, dropping the spoon and starting to walk out of the kitchen.

She caught his arm, hoping that he would stand still for just one moment. Just so she could really look at him. _Really see him_, this time.

As soon as her fingers were on his skin he stopped in mid-step, slowly putting his left foot down, but still refusing to look at her. Was he ashamed? Embarrassed for having said that?

"Wait," she took a deep breath. He didn't move.

"If you think you haven't made your mark on my heart…" she started, biting down on her lip out of habit. She rubbed her thumb over the crook of arm, curling her fingers around to try to turn him towards her. "…you're wrong. You fixed it. I mean...you're working on it, anyway. That's the...the most unselfish thing anyone's every done for me, Jake. This kind of thing…what's between us…is bound to leave its' mark on me. I mean- it has already. That proverbial tree you're talking about? It's got like…all these little carvings of 'JB & BS= BFFS 4EVER and stuff," she smiled, watching as the corner of his mouth twitched.

"And those little hearts?"

"Yeah, and those too," she laughed, turning so that she was standing in front of him. Jacob's eyes followed her closely as she clasped his hand in hers.

"It's just…I need a…buffer, kind of," her eyes held a sadness to them that she didn't realize was there until he wiped away a tear from her cheek.

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, wiping away more tears that were quickly streaking down her face.

"It's hard to really explain. Mm…there was me and then me and Edward right?" his eyes tightened as she brought _that _name into the conversation. Amazingly, her chest did not do the same. "But there wasn't any time…any _buffer_ I guess, or anything between Bella and Bella with Edward. Does that make sense?"

He nodded, still looking somewhat confused. She sighed. For all her literary-sense, she sure wasn't very good with her words. His hands found their way to her shoulders, as if he were anchoring her there.

"Now that he's…gone. It's been me and you pretty much. We've had a great friendship, neither of us can deny that. And I know how you feel about me. You say you know how I feel about you…but I don't want to…rush anything or mess anything up. I could take forever to take the next step, who knows? I just need to know that there's some sort of…"

"A middle ground?" he answered. Bella felt her body relax from relief- he understood what she meant now. And now they could finally get to the easy part of the Bells and Jake.

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean. A…way we can navigate for a while knowing how the other feels, but not…not acting on it? I guess. If that's fair to you, you think. I don't blame you if you get bored from waiting and-" he placed his hand on her mouth, causing her to mumble the last couple of syllables.

"You're crazy if you think I'll ever get tired of being around you, Bells. Insane, even. Whatever space you want, you got it. No worries there." Jacob seemed to be smiling wider than she'd ever seen before. It was such a bright smile that she nearly had to look away. Could she really make him this happy?

The atmosphere in the room shifted suddenly, as Jacob leaned forward to pull her to him. It was intimate, but it was-after all…just a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sunk against his lower chest. His arms seemed to wrap around her shoulders and head all at once, letting her inhale the scent of him deeply.

"How about that food?" he asked, ruffling up her hair as he pulled her away from him. Bella nodded, immediately feeling the physical loss of not having his warmed skin up against her, even through layers of fabric.

"Sounds good," she said, smoothing out her own shirt. He moved to stand over by the stove, reaching up to grab a skillet from some high-up cabinet.

Her eyes moved to rest on his long arms as they stretched out overhead. She shook her head and silently cursed to herself.

This is Jake! Jacob! Her best friend…who was still only just now turned seventeen! She would be twenty before the year was through…how could she be looking at him like this?

Then again…this was Jake. Her best friend.

So why with the middle ground…at all?

What was she afraid of?

Bella went to stand right behind him, clearly invading his personal space. He started to turn around, skillet still in hand. She watched intently as he grabbed the items from the counter to cook over the gas stove. Methodically, he placed the bread and butter in the pan and before turning on the burner.

"On second thought…" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, kissing his back where his left shoulder-blade jutted out.

"Yeah?" he answered huskily before twisting around to meet her gaze.

"I'm tired of playing safe. I'm not a child anymore. And neither-" she licked her lips while she pulled his head down to her level, still having to stand on her tip-toes, "-are you, Jake."

He groaned as their lips parted against each others, moving in some sort of controlled chaos together. His full lips seemed to cushion her smaller ones, as he practically lifted her up (no he did, he was lifting her up!) and her back met the many magnets and papers that were displayed on the refrigerator, and she just didn't care. Some of them went every which way, clattering to the floor as he pushed her up against it once, twice more. Her tongue traced it's way along his clean, almost sharp teeth, meeting his tongue as it crossed into her mouth.

It was almost sloppy-she'd never really kissed a guy like this before so she wasn't sure how they were supposed to keep something so…(ungh)…passionate under control.

Her eyes peeked open in surprise as Jacob's hands slowly made their presence known, holding her body up in an odd sitting position- his hands directly smoothed under her behind. Not only were his hands starting to slowly (rub?) the jean material they felt there, but his body seemed to be closer to her somehow.

Now her eyes were wide open as she plainly felt across her lower abdomen what was really going through Jake's mind. Even though part of her want him to throw her on the tiny kitchen table and for them to eventually end up on his bed…she knew it was better if they took things a _little_ more slowly.

Her frantic clawing at the skin under the back of his shirt ceased, and he kissed gently from her mouth to her jaw-line all the way up to her ear.

"Miss Swan, I think we might need to um…calm down some, " he whispered in an amused tone. And with that, he stood her up, his arms still encircled around her. She laughed as he blushed, for once.

"Hey Jake?" she said, facing towards the stove.

"Yeah? " his voice cracked, his tone apparently still recovering from the spontaneous make-out session they just had. She wrinkled her nose from the acrid scent of smoke that was now billowing out of the pan.

"I think your sandwich is burning."


End file.
